Wednesday, 16 December 2009

New Book - "Ireland and the Commonwealth - Towards Membership"

2009 marked the 60th anniversary of Ireland's departure from the Commonwealth, and many Reform members were enthusiastically involved in this year's campaign to encourage Ireland to now consider returning to the Commonwealth.

A joint letter to the Irish Times set out some of the main reasons to consider rejoining, and was signed by leading public figures from all parts of Ireland and these islands - including Alliance Party Leader David Ford MLA, PUP leader Dawn Purvis MLA, Lord Rana, Senator Eoghan Harris and academics such as Professor Brice Dickson and Professor Geoffrey Roberts:

"Ireland’s membership of the Commonwealth would, we are sure, be welcomed by the unionist community in Northern Ireland as a significant gesture of reconciliation. It would add to the collaborative framework established by the Belfast and St Andrew’s agreements. It would demonstrate unequivocally that the Republic has finally drawn a line under the troubled history of Anglo-Irish relations that led to Ireland’s self-exclusion from the Commonwealth 60 years ago. It would represent a further important step along the road to a pluralist Ireland in which different identities are recognised and respected, a country that celebrates its multi-cultural heritage and diverse history."

Reform has now published a new book, bringing together a collection of articles, speeches and reports by prominent academics, authors and political commentators on the important question of whether or not Ireland should return to the Commonwealth.